


Brontide

by Fireway



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Friends to Lovers, More Characters/Relationships to be Added, The rating is what it will be, but the mature themes step in later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-04-12 16:01:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19135390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireway/pseuds/Fireway
Summary: Childhood best friends Arya and Gendry attend the college of King's Landing. Chaos and romance ensues.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter will be a prologue, setting the modern-world Westeros and how Gendry and Arya know each other.

Arya Stark had always been his father’s favourite – much to her mother’s dismay, who wanted her daughters to grow up proper and traditional, as she had been raised herself. Well, her mum got half and half – she had a Sansa who would do her hair for hours in front of the mirror and read poetry, but she also had a wild-spirited Arya, with whom it was a battle even getting her to brush her hair.

 

So when Ned, Arya’s and Sansa’s father announced at a family dinner with everyone in the family there that the Stark tech – Ned’s father’s company Ned was the president of – would be opening a new unit in the capital and he would have to go to King’s Landing for about a year to oversee the opening of the unit, Arya had immediately begged to go with her dad. To Arya, it was the perfect opportunity to see the world outside the city of Winterfell, and a way to escape being the middle child of five – or six if you counted Jon.

 

Ned was quick to accept, but of course, Arya had had to go through her mother, too. It took weeks of begging and doing extra chores and even wearing a dress to aunt Lysa’s stupid party, but finally, just a month before Ned would move, Catelyn caved and agreed with a compromise: Arya could leave, but Sansa could go too if she wanted. Sansa dreamed of being a model or a famous designer, and Catelyn thought going to the capital would get Sansa’s feet back to the ground.

Arya agreed to the compromise, as did Ned – and soon Sansa was telling all the girls in her school how she was going to the capital and becoming famous. Arya was pretty sure she saw Sansa give out autographs one lunch break.

 

As the Stark girls drove with their father to King’s Landing in June heat, Arya kept whining how Sansa was using her space in the backseat and Sansa said Arya smelled. At that point, Ned started to question his choices and sanity, trying to make the girls settle down in the backseat. (It didn’t help, at all)

 

Sansa was enlisted in a pretentious private school of Red Keep, a fancy all-girls school that had been standing in the oldest parts of the city for hundreds of years. Arya and Ned, on the other hand, knew Arya would never settle in a school like that, even if it was just for a year. So, Arya attended the closest public school in the district, which was the Middle School of Visenya’s Hill.

The whole summer Sansa and Arya spent bickering over the smallest things, driving their father crazy and eventually threatening to send one or both back home.

Eventually, Ned found something for Arya to get some discipline to her; through work, he was introduced to a small waterdancing school. Waterdancing was not common in Westeros – Ned had only heard of it, as there was once a documentary on the braavosi dancing on tv, but it was not a big sport. The classes would start in September, but Ned contacted one of the masters of the school, Syrio Forel – he got lucky, and Syrio agreed to give Arya some lessons during summer, so she could jump right in when the classes started next autumn.

Arya fell in love. Waterdancing suited her like she was born to held the wooden, light swords and move through the floor quietly and quickly. And as Sansa would sit in the library, reading her poetry books, Arya spent her time either training with Syrio or going to the track and field course of Visenya’s Hill to train her endurance and speed.

Soon, it became a comfortable rhythm for the three Starks; Ned left early in the mornings to attend business meetings, and as soon as Arya woke up, she would leave the house and go to the track until it was time to practice with Syrio – though it was only thrice a week. Sansa kept to herself in the house, read and wrote her poems.

 

But as autumn came, the comfortable routine was broken; now Ned would drive Sansa to her pretentious school and Arya would run to her own school after snoozing her alarm one too many times.

Arya was happy, though – she fit in with the kids of her school, befriending them easily. There was one boy, who soon became her best friend; Gendry Waters.

She met him the first week in her new school, when she tried to play football with some of the boys in her class, she was told that girls couldn’t play. That ended up with Arya trying to push down the boy twice her size, but only being pushed to the mud herself. It was lucky Gendry saw all that; even he saw that if he didn’t get in between the two sixth graders, the tiny girl would be suspended for biting the boy’s ankles or something – so Gendry, tall and gloomy, stepped in, pulling Arya off the ground and towering over the sixth grader boys; he didn’t need much of a word before the boys were running away from Gendry and the mud-stained Arya behind his back.

Gendry was two years older than Arya, but he was on the seventh grade when Arya attended sixth. Sometimes Gendry came to their English lessons; when she asked about it, Gendry told here, begrudgingly, that he was held back a year because he had a wicked dyslexia. Arya was not completely sure what it meant, but she didn’t ask about it again; it seemed like a sore spot.  

The small age difference didn’t change anything between them; Arya and Gendry spent their breaks together playing football, that most of the time turned to playful bickering and one of them laughing their arse off as the other was pushed into the mud of the football field.

 

Gendry was private of his life, at first; Arya tried asking him to hang out with her after school multiple times, but Gendry always had to go soon after school ended. Then finally, right before winter break started, Gendry admitted he was not from around Visenya’s Hill; he was from Flea Bottom, but he couldn’t keep up with the kids back there and was sent to the nearest middle school that could attend to his special needs. After that, it didn’t take long until one Friday Gendry talked about his family for the first time – or lack thereof. He didn’t know who his dad was, and his mother had died when he was little, so for the last 10 or so years Gendry had been living at the Flea Bottom Foster Home – he said it was fine and couldn’t complain, but it was why he never could bring Arya over. Arya felt bad for Gendry, and asked if he would like to go to Winterfell with her and her family for the break; that had only made Gendry angry, and the boy had said he didn’t want her pity family. After that, Arya didn't suggest it again. 

 

Thankfully, kids forgot and forgave easily; and as the winter break started, Arya and Gendry had already made up. When Arya came back to King’s Landing in January, she realized she only had less than half a year before she would go back to Winterfell with her father; she begged to let her stay, said she would run away and live at the foster home – and finally the two sister found something to agree upon, as Sansa had made a friend, a girl called Margaery, in her school. So soon, both of the girls were begging to stay in King's Landing a while longer. That was one of the first times Ned got angry with his daughters; how could they trade away their family for a few friends they’d known for less than a year. That had made both of the girls shut up - and soon, prepare themselves for a goodbye. 

 

And as the spring air was made warm by the summer winds, Arya found herself hugging Gendry tightly in front of the main doors of the school – it had come to the time of having to say goodbye, as hard as it was. Arya later realized she had never hugged Gendry before - and it seemed like Gendry wasn't used to it, as he seemed clumsy and awkward as he finally had the mind to hug her back. Gendry promised her they would keep in contact, that he’d get the money to go to Winterfell someday; Arya promised to visit him whenever her dad would come down south.

 

And as Arya sat down to the backseat of the car after Sansa had called out to her, she knew it wouldn’t be the last time she saw Gendry. Her phone buzzed, and Arya got her phone with a case with a black wolf in a forest out, a new message popping to her screen.

 

**GenDRY** 14:33:   I can't wait to see you again!! :) :) Give pets to Nymerra for me!!


	2. Long road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made some small changes to the character's ages and backstories to make it fit the story better.
> 
> Arya is 18.   
> Gendry is 21.   
> Sansa and Margaery are 20.  
> Jon and Robb are 25. Bran is 17, Rickon is 10/11. Theon is 21, Yara is 22. 
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Arya lunged forward in the tall grass, sweat glistening on her forehead. The summer air was humid, even for Winterfell – she could already hear her mom complain about how Arya smelled bad and needed to take a shower before heading out again.

Arya’s thoughts stumbled soon, as her phone vibrated on top of the tree stump she had left it on multiple times, as if it was having a full-on seizure. It wasn’t nearly dinnertime, so Arya put her waterdancing sword – a thin little thing she called Needle – against the stump and picked up the phone, her face lighting up as she saw the name on the screen.

 

**Gendry** 15:47:   ARYA ❗ ❗ ❗

**Gendry** 15:47:   ❗ ❗ ❗ ANSWER PLEASE ❗ ❗ ❗

**Gendry** 15:47:   Wait are you practicing?

**Gendry** 15:47:   How dare you leave me hanging

**Gendry** 15:48:   I’m going to call you in 3

**Gendry** 15:48:   2

**Arya S.** 15:48:    ????? WHAT

**Arya S.** 15:48:    did someone die

**Gendry** 15:48:   Drumroll, please

**Gendry** 15:49:   DRUMROLL, PLEASE

**Arya** **S**. 15:49:    when did you become this extra 💀 💀

**Gendry** 15:49:   I GOT THE LETTER!

**Arya S**. 15:50:    COLLEGE???

**Gendry** 15:50:   No a coupon for 35% off my first trip to Essos 🤠 YES COLLEGE

**Arya** **S**. 15:50:    WE’RE GOING TO BE COLLEGE BUDDIES

**Gendry** 15:50:   I never said which college, sorry I’m going to the college of Harrenhal, see you later sucker

**Arya** **S.** 15:51:    dumbass i know for a fact you never applied there 🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡

**Gendry** 15:51:   Well I never got my drumroll

**Arya S.** 15:52:    ANYWAY congratz!!! 🎉 🎉 🎉

**Arya S.** 15:54:    i cant wait to see you again

 

Arya clutched her phone to her chest, unable to stop herself from smiling – she would see Gendry again. Arya had visited Gendry a few times after their separation almost 6 years before, but she hadn’t seen him in almost 4 – after Stark Tech King’s Landing got on it’s feet with Jon working as the director of inner communication, her father didn’t need to go south that often. Well, Arya had been in a waterdancing competition a year before, taking the bus to King’s Landing, but back then Gendry couldn’t make it; now, finally, she would meet him again.

They still texted, of course, almost daily – they talked about school and how stupid Arya’s sibling were or how much Gendry hated his apartment with no warm water almost twice a week and a crack in the ceiling. Gendry had been the first one to know Arya had gotten in her top college, the same school Gendry had now been accepted in.

 

Arya couldn’t stay still, so she grabbed Needle and her water bottle and ran up the hill, crossing a small patch of forest. She ran in the tall grass, little paths like veins of the ground. Arya got on her bike and rode for a few minutes to the busy streets of Winterfell, before stopping in front of her home on the edge of the city, in a quiet, old neighbourhood.

The Starks lived quite well; the house was large, and even if the outside was old, it was well-kept and renovated inside. A strong stone fence surrounded the property, Arya slipping through the heavy steel gate, making sure none of the dogs got out – Nymeria was immediately at her feet, almost tripping her over several times while yapping happily.

“Hi, girl. Yeah, yeah, missed you too, I was planning on never coming back. Yesss, yes I was neeever going back.” Arya laughed at the large dog circling her, nuzzling her hand. The other dogs kept their distance, Lady and Summer laying down in the sun – Arya felt bad for the dogs with their thick furs, leaving the front door open so the dogs could go inside, although Arya knew her mom wouldn’t like it.

“I’m back!” the house was quiet, empty – Arya kicked her shoes off her feet and walked to the kitchen, Nymeria on her heels.

“Don’t tell mom.” Arya grinned at her pup, slipping the grey and white dog some of last night’s beef.

 

Arya walked upstairs to her room, peeking to Sansa’s room – she was sitting on her bed, talking to someone with her headphones on; _probably Margaery_ , Arya thought as she stepped in, not bothering to knock.

“Where’s mom? And Bran and Rickon?” Arya’s voice made Sansa jump and groan at her little sister.

“When will you learn to knock?” Sansa snapped, pressing the laptop screen down so Arya couldn’t see what she was doing. Sansa lifted her headphones off her ears, fixing her hair immediately after. “Mom and Rickie are getting groceries. Bran is somewhere, probably in the city.” Sansa informed her, Arya’s brows rising.

“Did mom see my note? I asked if she’d bring me -”

“Do I look like I can read mom’s mind? Yeah, I don’t know.” Sansa rolled her eyes, annoyed. Arya opened her mouth to snap something, but then pressed her lips to a thin line, leaving Sansa’s room, leaving the door open just to annoy Sansa – Arya didn’t even make it to her own room when she heard the door being shut behind her. She wondered where did Sansa learn to close the door passive-aggressively.

Arya’s room was a mess, as usual. She tossed Needle against a drawer near the door and proceeded to slump down to her bed, her tired muscles screaming for her to take a nap.

Instead, Arya grabbed one of the books from the floor, flipping it open. Arya skimmed through the book, the bold letters on top of every page reading “The Pioneers of Psychology” – it was one of Arya’s books she knew she’d need once school started, and she felt quite a bit more comfortable getting a head start on others. Arya turned to lay on her stomach, pushing a pillow under herself to get comfortable.

 

The next thing Arya realized was her cheek against the paper and fast footsteps that were coming towards her room. Arya hardly had time to roll over to her back in her sleepy haze, almost kicking Nymeria curled up in her feet, when Rickon barged into her sister’s room.

“Look! Mom got it for me!” Rickon was shoving something to Arya’s face. Arya sat up, trying to figure out what Rickon was holding; it ended up being some type of water gun that had some assortment of superhero icons covering the handle.

“That’s is so cool! Can I borrow it?” Arya smiled at her little brother, who was only turning 11 next autumn.

“You have to ask nicely.” Rickon said, proudly holding his new toy.

“Alright, I’ll ask you nicely to shoot Sansa with it, please?” Arya said, grinning as her brother’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Arya mushed Rickon’s curly hair, laughing quietly at him, and just like Rickon had come to his room, he was soon gone like a whirlwind.

“Arya? Sansa? Come down, Robb and Talisa are coming over for dinner!” Catelyn’s voice rang through the house, sending Arya scrambling on her feet. Arya closed the door before tossing her sweaty training clothes away, getting a somewhat-clean t-shirt and jean shorts from her drawer so her mom wouldn’t complain about her choice of clothing.

 

As Arya walked downstairs, she was greeted by her mom emptying the grocery bags to the fridge and cabins, seemingly ready to cook food for a whole army for a month. But on the other hand, the Stark family was it’s own little army, with the parents and five kids with two growing boys, Theon coming over almost daily to eat, Robb’s wife Talisa who was eating for two already, and occasionally others.

“Gods, Arya, you look like you were raised in a forest. Go clean up before dinner.” Catelyn huffed as soon as she saw her daughter, barely even looking up as she  

“Hi to you too, mom. Did you get my note?”

“What note?”

“… Nevermind.” Arya pouted, leaning against the kitchen counter, taking her phone out and checking the new messages; a dumb meme from Gendry and her studygroup’s chat flooded with Alys Karstark – Arya’s cousin thousand times removed – and Ryon Forrester debating on moving into the dorms or to have their own apartments. Arya rolled her eyes at them, then responding to Gendry, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

“You’re in a good mood.” Catelyn stated, looking at Arya under her brow as she was preparing the chicken. “Something good happen?”

“Well, uh… Yeah, my friend got into King’s as well.” Arya said after considering her words – her mom knew of Gendry, but she knew bringing hip up would just make Catelyn ask around million awkward questions about Gendry and Arya didn’t feel like dealing with explaining to her mom how she and Gendry were just friends.

“Someone northern? Not a lot of northfolk go down south for college. Well, unless they study politics.”

“Robb didn’t go to King’s Landing for that.”

“Well, Robb knew he’d get homesick in a week if he left you guys.” Catelyn’s smile grew softer, but then she snapped out of it, looking up at Arya and nodding towards upstairs.

“Go clean up now. And ask Sansa to come downstairs, she could give me a hand.”

“I could as well-”

“Oh, not after the last time.” Arya rolled her eyes – like getting pancake mix into the ceiling was that bad. Or having Rickon’s and Bran’s hands and faces completely blue with the blueberries. Or Nymeria staining the white couch with said blueberries that the three youngest of Starks had fed her.

 

Arya went upstairs, knocking on Rickon’s door first.

“Come guard Sansa’s door, you can test your new toy on her.” Arya told Rickon as she peeked her head through the door, grinning widely at her mischievous little brother.

Arya went to knock Sansa’s door, opening it slightly so Sansa could hear her voice.

“Mom needs you downstairs!” with that, she heard Sansa end her call. Rickon was already standing behind the door, spy-style in the shadows. Arya laughed quietly as she mushed his curly hair and then escaped to the bathroom, just in time to hear Sansa screech in surprise.

 

* * *

 

When Arya came back from the shower, she heard her dad downstairs, which meant dinner would be served soon. She ran back to her room at the end of the hall in case Sansa was waiting for her for a revenge.

After getting a clean set of clothes – a pair of jean dungarees and a striped t-shirt - Arya went downstairs, her hair still damp when out of nowhere a pair of hands were on her eyes.

“Guess who.”

Arya whirled around, grinning at Robb standing behind her, towering over his younger sister.

“When did you get here? I didn’t hear you guys come in.” Arya asked, hugging her eldest brother with one hand, seeing Talisa behind him with a hand resting on her growing belly.

“Just now, dad just needed my help in the garden.”

After a short chat Catelyn called the whole family to eat. Arya sat next to Robb in the corner of the table, opposite of Bran. Their mom had cooked chicken in the oven with rice, and though the table seemed to be absolutely overflowing with food and salads and bread, it wasn’t long before the pans and pots were almost empty as the seven-headed family got their plates full; and even then, Jon and Theon weren’t there to eat, so there already were two empty chairs.

 

Theon was brought to the Stark family when he was just a boy; Ned was in business with the Greyjoys, as they delivered Stark tech to ports. They were in good terms, so after Theon’s and Yara’s mother, Alannys, died in a car accident with their two eldest sons, Maron and Rodrik, their father Balon grew abusive for the last remaining children of his. Ned had stepped in, and basically took Theon in; he let him sleep at their house and as soon as Theon was old enough, he hired him to do small tasks in his company to get the boy on his feet. When Theon showed interest in technology during his high school years, Ned decided to give him the annual Stark Scholarship and helped Theon attend college. Yara, on the other hand, had other plans – she went to overseas to finish her education and then started college in King’s Landing – Arya heard her explain it to Theon once; she was old enough to remember the loss of her mother and what her father did, and she needed to get away.

To Arya, the thought of getting away seemed strange; family was important, should rise above everything else. But on the other hand, her parents had always been supportive, wanting her to be happy above success or anything else.

 

“Girls, do you know when you want to leave to King’s Landing?” Ned’s voice interrupted Arya’s mental monologue, as she looked up. Arya looked at Sansa, then turned her head to face her dad.

“Well, the semester starts at the end of August. But Arya should get there like… A week earlier when the orientation starts.” Sansa said, shooting a look at Arya, raising her brows as she shot a question at her. “Have you looked up the date of the orientation week?”

“Yeah. I think it was around 18th or 19th, not sure.”

“So you need at least a few days to get your stuff moved. So maybe we should leave a week before your orientation? Have you looked up the apartments yet?” Ned suggested, looking at Arya over the table.

“I have a friend in King’s Landing, whose kid is moving out of their apartment near the campus, we could ask her..” Catelyn started as well, but Arya shook her head.

“I was actually thinking of going into a dorm. Or a suite. I don’t think I want to jump straight from this house to living completely alone. I mean, whose alarm would wake me up in an ungodly hour?” Arya said, rolling her eyes at Bran, who was very into early morning and other stupid things, like cooking his healthy breakfasts at 5am and waking up the whole house. Bran had a shit-eating grin on his face as his sister tried to drag him into her arguments to living with other people.

“That’s fine with me, I’d feel better knowing my little girl isn’t burning down the house all alone.” Ned laughed, looking at Robb for a moment before talking to Arya. ”We could ask Jon to scout out if he knows anyone looking for a roommate.” Arya nodded at her father, excited – last year, when Sansa left for college, it was Jon who had found a perfect little condo for Sansa which she ended up sharing with Margaery.

“Sounds good to me.”

 

* * *

 

On August 13th Arya found herself crammed into the back seat of Jon’s car. Sansa was sitting in the front, chatting away with their brother – well, not their brother, their cousin – as Arya was dying in the heat of the Riverlands, the air humid and the morning sun burning her skin through the glass.

They had left early in the morning – they, of course, meaning Arya and Sansa in Jon’s car and Ned driving with Catelyn with the bigger car crammed with moving boxes and furniture for Arya’s new apartment.

Arya was giddy just thinking about her new place; it wasn’t Jon who found it in the end, but Yara; she rented an apartment with five bedrooms near the campus gym and stadium and after her roommates had graduated last year, Yara had three empty bedrooms. Arya had gotten one of them, and about a week ago Yara had added Arya to a groupchat boringly called “Roommates”, with Arya’s new roommates; Joy Erenford, a second year literature student and first year students Myrcella Lannister and Lyanna Mormont. Arya and Lyanna had soon realized they were both from north, so for a few days the chat was flooded with northern memes and sayings, and eventually Yara had to make a “no meme-spamming before moving in”-rule. Not that Arya or Lyanna really listened.

“Can we stop to get a something to drink soon? I’m _dying_.” Arya whined, catching Jon’s grinning eyes in the mirror.

“Sure, princess. And where shall I, your humble taxi driver, drive you?”

“Come on, it’s not even that hot!” Sansa huffed, obviously eager to get to King’s Landing – but taking the King’s Road and just driving down the highway still meant almost a 7-hour-drive, and they still had 3 more hours to go.

“Maybe for you, you got the AC up there!” Arya complained, kicking the back of Sansa’s seat sharply.

“Little bitch.”

“Takes one to know one.” Arya hummed, then fishing her phone out, swiping away the few notifications.

 

**Roommates**

**Participants** : Yara GJ, Myrcella Lannister, Joy Erenford, Lyanna 🐻, you

 

**Arya S.** 11:03:                  @Joy Erenford @Lyanna 🐻 what time will you be in KL?

**Lyanna** 🐻 11:04:           Not until like 6, why?

**Joy Erenford** 11:05:        I’m here

**Yara GJ** 11:05:                  Me and Myrcella are waiting for you guys, ring me if you need help getting here

**Arya S.** 11:06:                  cool, i think jon knows where to go, not sure about my parents though

 

Arya closed the groupchat and opened her conversation with Gendry, eyeing the last message sent, faint smile on her lips.

 

**Gendry** 03:21:                  My roommate just got back from the bar. I’ll go see if he is still alive, it’s way too quiet. Good night!

**Arya S**. 11:08:                  did you spend the rest of the night digging a grave for your roommate?

**Gendry** 11:13:                  No. But my room is a fucking sauna. Couldn’t sleep at all.

**Arya S.** 11:13:                  gm, buy yourself a freezer and sleep in it

**Gendry** 11:13:                  Genius, will you sponsor me the said freezer?

**Arya** **S**. 11:14:                  you wish

 

**Gendry** 11:21:                  What time do you think you’ll be here?

**Arya S.** 11:23:                  at like half past two or so, maybe a bit earlier

**Arya S**. 11:24:                  are you going to throw me a surprise welcome party

**Gendry** 11:26:                  Your apartment is near the stadium, right?

**Arya S.** 11:26:                  yea

**Gendry** 11:27:                  Send me a message once you get here and I can come see you. It’s like a 15- minute walk from my place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! :) 
> 
> Feel free to DM me [@lesbianismkills](https://twitter.com/lesbianismkills) on twitter if you're into dad jokes.


	3. Dusk

“I will strangle you in your sleep.”

Uncaring of the imminent doom that shadowed over her life, Arya kept kicking the back of Sansa’s seat. Sansa whipped her head around, fire in her eyes, ready to throw hands with Arya any moment, when Jon raised his voice.

“You’re both walking the rest of the way if you continue.“ Jon announced, making Arya roll her eyes and grab at Jon’s seat, tapping the back of her brother’s neck.

“You wouldn’t leave me. I’m your favourite.”

“Keep telling yourself when I stop this car and get your stuff out of this car.”

Arya poked at Jon one more, debating on pinching him, but decided against it since Jon was driving down the busy highway.

“Not to be that person, but are we there yet?” Sansa asked, trying to peek at Jon’s navigator screen.

“Just around 10 minutes, then we’ll be in King’s Landing. To campus, it’s… Around 15 minutes or more.”

“Shouldn’t we take the Sea Gate then? You’d get to the campus faster.”

“Who is driving this car, huh?” Jon feigned annoyance, then pointing at the bag in Sansa’s feet – or, well, one of them. “Will you shut up if I let you snack? Just don't get anything on the seats.”

“Probably not.” Arya chimed in, ripping open the peanut mix Sansa had thrown at her.

 

* * *

 

When Jon finally found a parking spot, but it was far away from Arya’s address. Both girls groaned audibly. All the streets near dorms and student housing were filled with cars and students with half way too many helping hands moving their stuff in or coming back after the summer.

The wind felt amazing against Arya’s sweaty skin after sitting in the hot car for hours. She stretched her arms, seeing a RA in the college tee coming towards her as soon as she lifted one of the boxes out of the car trunk.

“Hello, welcome to campus, I’m a RA Sam Tarly, I’m in the charge of residence halls B and C, do you need help with anything?” His voice was friendly, smiling widely at Arya, who opened her mouth contemplating if she needed any help. Arya balanced the box between her and the car, offering a small, friendly enough smile at the RA.

“I live in corner apartment D. It’s a bit further away from here, right?” Of course, Arya already knew the answer, but part of her wished that maybe this RA could magically get them a parking spot closer to the building or maybe they knew if there was another option than dragging all her stuff all the way from here to the apartment.

“Ah, yes, it is. There’s so many people moving in it can be a bit of a pain finding a parking spot, but you could try the street up from the street where the apartment is. It’s usually a bit less quiet and has multiple alleyways connecting to the road your apartment is in. Or, if that doesn’t work out, you can go ask the office if they have any extra dollies to spare.” The RA answered quickly, then pulling out a neatly folded campus map from his bag. “You see, this road is where your apartment is, so go up here. The office of your side of the campus is located here, but you could go ask the other office too.” Sam explained while circling Arya’s new home and the offices.

“Thank you! This was super helpful!” Arya thanked him politely, then folded up the map to her back pocket and put the box back to the car trunk while Sam went on to harass another new student.

Arya’s eyes searched for Jon, soon finding him having a smoke a bit further from the car, as Sansa was leaning against the car, heart-shaped sunglasses on her nose as she texted to someone.

“Jon, some RA came over and said we could move the car, there might spots left in a nearby street. Wanna go check that out?”

 

* * *

 

Arya wiped the sweat off her brow as she carried the heavy box up the stairs. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she fished it out after she set the box down to her new room’s floor.

 

 **Gendry** 15:29:                  Are you here yet?

 **Arya S**. 15:32:                  yeah, just need to get my things out of the car

 **Gendry** 15:33:                  Want some help? I have time.

 **Arya S.** 15:38:                  its cool, i think i can sneak away in a bit and we can meet up

 

Arya stared at the little bubble with three dots appear, but then it disappeared as Gendry erased whatever he was going to say. Arya looked around her new room, trying to manoeuvre herself through the labyrinth of moving boxes and sparse furniture. She made her way to the window, grimacing to herself as she realized her window was facing directly someone else’s and she could see right in each other’s rooms. Arya put the blinds down, turning to see Jon and Ned trying to carry her hardwood desk’s pieces inside.

“There’s just a few more boxes in Jon’s car, do you want me to run to the store? I could get you something to drink.” Arya asked, moving away from the two man trying to finds a place on the floor to put the desk piece to.

“Aye, go ahead. If you find iced coffee, I’d like one.”

“Same for me. Gods, Arya, you said you didn’t have a lot of things to bring from home.” Her father said as he put the desk piece down, looking at the amount of boxes.

“Well, if you compare it to Sansa’s…” Arya started, smiling wickedly as she could push her sister under the bus. Sansa wasn’t even there to defend herself, since Catelyn and Sansa had gone to see Sansa’s apartment and do a grocery run with Margaery, since Marg’s car was at the mechanic.

“Gods, don’t even remind me. Once Bran and Ricky move out they better hire a company, my ack can’t take another move.” Ned complained as he straightened his back, hand coming to rest on the small of it.

Arya smiled at her brother and father before she grabbed her wallet and phone, heading out the door. Yara had given Arya one key when she first came – though there were spare keys somewhere – so Arya had to leave her key with Jon and Ned as they would need it more than her.  

 

 **Arya S.** 15:51:                  im going to get iced coffee, is there a place on campus?

 **Arya S**. 15:51:                  we could meet up there, if that works for you?

 **Gendry** 15:55:                  Sure! There’s one near your place, I’ll send you a navigation link in a bit!

 **Gendry** 15:58:                  _Gendry_ sent an attachment:      

                                           Latte Landing, 32 Helliweg’s Road, King’s Landing, Westeros

                                           _Open in Map                    Save this address_

Arya headed out the door, passing by Yara napping on the living room couch as she headed down the stairs.

The sun outside was cruel and unforgiving, and before Arya could even reach the café before she felt sweaty and gross. It was just a five-minute walk, but with Arya’s phone mixing up the directions and Arya heading to the wrong direction for a while, it took Arya nearly fifteen. When Arya finally reached the café, which seemed to double as a bar judging by the overpriced hipster-beers people were drinking, she grabbed her phone to see if Gendry was here already. As she opened the message-app, the family chat was more or less on fire after Bran spilled the beans of him dating Meera, a girl from his school. Arya grinned to herself – Bran was smart, finally telling it when Catelyn and Ned weren’t home, so if it seemed like the parents were preparing for The Talk that every Stark child had to sit through with flushed cheeks, Bran would still have time to run away.

Instead of touching the can of worms that was the Stark Speaks, official family chat, Arya tapped at Gendry’s icon, her eyes quickly checking the familiar icon; Arya could only see Gendry’s broad back and the silhouette of his face, as he was looking on to the sea – Gendry mentioned it was when he visited the Citadel with his class few years back. Arya couldn’t help but wonder, if Gendry had changed – of course they called and skyped from time to time, but it wasn’t the same. Arya remembered the picture Gendry had posted recently to his Instagram – Gendry’s pictures were mostly of his friends in King’s Landing or sceneries, rarely himself, but the picture he had posted announcing he got in King’s College, he’d looked stockier, taller than Arya remembered – but it must have been the angle or the lighting – no way the scrawny kid had filled out like in the picture.

 

 **Arya S.** 16:17:                  im here

 **Gendry** 16:17:                  Hi here I’m Gendry

 

Arya started writing a reply to Gendry’s stupid joke, rolling her eyes, but he was faster as the three dots quickly became two messages sent back to back.

**Gendry** 16:17:                  Aren’t people supposed to grow taller when they get older?

 **Gendry** 16:17:                  I’m behind you btw

 

Arya whirled around the second she read the text, looking around like a hound dog, until her eyes landed on Gendry who was walking towards her, grinning goofily to Arya as he waved his hand, still holding the phone with its screen lit up.

“Hi-” Gendry could barely open his mouth in a greeting before Arya cut him off.

“You can’t start by insulting your friends you haven’t seen in years.” Arya couldn’t even fake the anger in her voice as she stepped closer, practically jumping to hug Gendry, grinning happily. “You’ve gotten taller!” Arya smiled as Gendry put his arms around her, hugging her close and chuckling happily.

“Most people do. _Most_.”

“Oi, stop it! I can’t help it I was given tiny genes!” Arya let go of Gendry for a moment, yet her hand was ghosting near his arm, mentally gesturing him to stop moving as Arya shamelessly looked at him from head to toe, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I see you didn’t spend those summers at the rowing camp for nothing. You look nice.” Arya’s tone was joking, light – as if she didn’t have a hard time tearing her eyes away from Gendry’s wide shoulders and biceps, as he had filled out over the years, the boyish lanky form long gone. It seemed like it wasn’t all angles and lighting on his Instagram.

“So do you.” Gendry smiled, and for a moment Arya’s knees felt weak – wait, _what_? Arya Stark’s knees didn’t feel weak. Well, maybe they did sometimes, but it was rare. Like when the junior girl with blonde curls and brightest of green eyes sang at the graduation ceremony or when she saw the tall boy with a brilliant smile practice basketball almost daily when Arya passed him on her way to the waterdancing practice.

But this was _Gendry._ Gendry who still probably had her saved her in his phone as “Arry” after he couldn’t get her name right back in elementary school, and who had heard her snore and talk in her sleep after she fell asleep as they were trying to watch a movie at the same time, but Gendry’s internet kept going on and off and finally it had been too late to finish the movie so they just ended up talking – or rather, Arya falling asleep on the living room sofa, Gendry laughing his ass off as he heard the soft snoring and mumbling from the other end. Arya heard about it for years, as if she hadn’t caught Gendry singing and dancing around his room half-naked to bubblegum pop after he thought he ended the call and Arya recorded it all to use as blackmail-material.

 _That_ was Gendry – _her_ Gendry who teased her and was stupid and bull-headed, and kind and sweet and oh, so stupid. It was Gendry she remembered as a friend, with limbs too long for his growing body and an awkward attempt at growing a moustache when Arya last saw him. It was Gendry who sent her text at 3am telling about how he saw a stray dog on the street and gave it food, it was Gendry who sent him blurry pictures of King’s Landing’s docs with his feet in the water and sunset colouring the sky pink.

Now, this Gendry was something new, with the same ocean eyes but they were older – and Arya would’ve described them as wiser, but even in her inner monologue she wouldn’t give such credit and satisfaction to Gendry. This Gendry was all mature, though there was a faint cut where he had shaved, smile that made Arya think about all the times Gendry had been in a bar, with Arya teasing him about not pulling anyone with his _stupid_ face and _dumb_ jokes – now Arya wondered, how could he ever leave any bar alone.

“… Arya? You going to get to the line or are you just going to stand there?” Gendry’s question shook Arya out of her thoughts, the girl looking over her shoulder into the café. Arya nodded, as if she hadn’t just had a tiny meltdown over Gendry’s changed looks, turning to the café and walked in with Gendry at her heel, standing in the line as she turned to look at the man again.

“You said your place was like 15 minutes away from mine, yeah?” Arya asked, looking at the list of coffees and other drinks, staring at the section with the iced drinks.

“… Yeah, what about it?” Gendry asked, and Arya could absolutely feel his eyes on her.

“Just wondering. You know I’m going to visit you, right?“

“I don’t think that’ll work out. Our place has a strict “no girls allowed”-policy. You know, girl germs and all.” Gendry stated as seriously he could as he side-eyes Arya, whose head soon snapped towards the man, eyes annoyed as she believed Gendry’s words at first.

“You’re kidding.” Arya sighed, as she saw Gendry’s mouth turn to an amused grin, as the man tried to hold in his laughter in the crowed café.

“Of course I am kidding! Just wanted to see your face.” Gendry laughed, earning a soft kick to his shin from Arya, who pouted at him, seeming quite done with Gendry at the moment.

“You’re so stupid.”

“Well you’re the one who fell for it.”

 

After Arya had gotten her order, two iced coffees with extra shot of espresso and an iced latte for herself, Arya turned to Gendry who was just getting his own coffee from the barista.

“I have a feeling you aren’t going to drink all of those alone?” Gendry nodded towards the drink tray Arya was holding, making the girl shake her head.

“Yeah, dad and Jon are waiting for them. I should probably get back…”

“Do you need any help? Moving in and all?” Gendry offered, seeming genuine enough, but Arya had to turn it on with an apologetic grin.

“I don’t think you want to get a fully interrogated right now? Dad can be a bit much. Jon, too, if he’s in the mood.” Arya responded, then fishing her phone out of her pocket and waving it in front of Gendry’s face. “Text me your address, or we can hang out tomorrow. We need to catch up.”

With an one-armed hug, Arya turned around from the café door and clicked open the message from Jon.

 

 **Curly** 16:32:                      Did you get lost or ….

 

 **Curly** 16:39:                      All I ask for is coffee

 **Curly** 16:48:                      Can’t believe I have to tell Ned he lost his daughter to college life in approximately 5 minutes after arrival

 **Arya S.** 16:51:                   stop being dramatic or im bringing you green tea

 **Curly** 16:52:                      I don’t want it

 

Arya kicked gently at the front door to get it open, smiling to herself as she heard her dad’s and Jon’s voices coming from her room, climbing up the stairs.

“Two coffees for the most helpful movers, ever.” Arya’s voice was overly sweet and nice, making Jon roll his dark eyes before grabbing one of the cups from the tray.

“Do you want me to put up the paintings and stuff now, or the next time I come visit?” Ned asked as he sipped his own iced coffee, nodding towards the pile of paintings Arya had gotten over the years and the few framed posters.

“I’ll figure my room’s layout first, then get everything on the walls, thanks.” Arya said, then checking her phone and raising his brows to the two men.

“Aren’t mom and Sansa expecting you in … 3 minutes? Dad, check your phone.”

As Ned checked his phone screen with the message-icon blinking angrily at him, it didn’t take him long to curse under his breath. “Jon, can you handle the rest. I need to go.”

As Arya and Jon tried to hold in their laughter as Ned bolted around Arya’s new room, picking up his stuff and then practically running down the stairs after giving Arya a quick hug and wishing her well in her first week in college, Arya felt quite content in the moment.

 

* * *

 

Jon stayed with Arya for a few more hours, as they put Arya’s clothes in the closet and decorated the room after switching the place of the dresser, bookshelf and the bed multiple times in the summer heat. Eventually Arya was happy with how the room looked, and thanked Jon, sending him off to grab something for himself and his fiancé Ygritte from the drive-in near campus.

 

Lyanna had arrived after six o’clock, but Arya had barely seen the girl as both were rumbling around their own rooms. It was almost nine in the evening when the house really seemed to come to life – Arya was in the kitchen fixing herself a cup of noodles when she heard footsteps behind her, though faint.

“A northerner, a riverlander and a crownlander walk into a bar…” Lyanna Mormont started the tacky joke with a dry voice, but as Arya spun around to see the girl, she was already grabbed to a bear-hug. “Gods it’s good to have another northerner here, I couldn’t live with these southerners if I didn’t have anyone to bitch to.”

Arya laughed at Lyanna’s words, patting her back in the hug.

“You said it. Did you move in all your stuff already? That was fast.” Arya asked as she retreated from the bone-crushing hug, Lyanna moving to lean against the kitchen counter.

“Bear islanders don’t fuck around. Had my uncle helping me, anyway.”

“You trying to say something about inlanders?”

“Just that Winterfell Direwolves have lost the last two games to Bearisland’s Cubs.” Lyanna grinned, receiving a playful punch to her arm.

“They’re just having a rocky start!” Arya defended, grinning, then looking up to Yara, who was peeking her head through the kitchen door.

“I wouldn’t say anything about the Cubs, the last game against the Squids was a ---”

“Shut up, shut up, the referee was biased!” Lyanna put her hands over her ears like a child, making Yara roll her eyes in amusement.

“Do you want to come watch a movie with me and Joy? Myrcella’s bringing snacks.” Yara then continued, pointing with her thumb towards the living room, making Lyanna wiggle her brows suggestively.

“You mean her boyfr--”

“No.”

 

* * *

 

As Joy was softly snoring at the other end of the sofa and Myrcella and her boyfriend Trystane Martell were cuddling under the blanket on the smaller, two-seat sofa while the end credits of the bad romcom they had just watched rolled on the screen, Arya dug her phone out. Yara had left suspiciously early after texting for a while and then retreating to her own room, while Lyanna never wanted to see the movie, so she just went back to her new room.

Arya swiped the phone screen, opening the family chat with a tiny smile on her face.

 

**Stark Speaks**

**Participants** : Mom, Dad, Curly, Comic Sansa, HeartthROBB, Tiny, Braniac

 

 **Dad** 19:21:                       Leaving King’s Landing now, is everything alright at home? 

 **Mom** 19:41:                     Bran, Robb, is everything alright?

 **Braniac** 19:55:                 nope, the house is on fire and I cut my finger while cooking

 **Mom** 19:55:                     ?!?!?!!!

 **HeartthROBB** 19:56:      Nothing and nobody is on fire, Bran is fine

 **Mom** 19:56:                     Good. Have you fed the digs?

 **Mom** 19:56:                     Dogs*

 **HearthROBB** 19:57:        Yes. Have a safe drive home! I’m staying in the house until you and dad get back.

 **Mom** 19:58:                     Ok : ) Hugs and kisses!

 

**Absolute madlads + sansa**

**Participants** : Curly, Comic Sansa, HeartthROBB, Braniac

 

 **Braniac** 19:54:                I’m about to end mom’s whole career

 **HearthROBB** 19:54:        BRAN NO

 **HearthROBB** 19:54:        Gods damn it

 **HearthROBB** 19:57:        They should have put you up to adoption

 **Comic Sansa** 20:01:        Seconded, Rickon too

 **Braniac** 20:03:                 omg I’m going to tell Rick you said that

 **Comic Sansa** 20:04:        Don’t, he’ll cry

 **Braniac** 20:05:                 you have no power here

 

 **Comic Sansa** 23:51:        Bran you asshole???

 **Comic Sansa** 23:51:        Mom’s yelling @ me via text

 **Comic Sansa** 23:51:        Guess who is NOT going to get anything for his birthday

 **Braniac** 00:02:                send me your location

 **Comic Sansa** 00:06:        Why????

 **Braniac** 00:07:                 I think I left the fuck I gave there

 **Curly** 00:07:                    wow

 **Comic Sansa** 00:08:        It’s not here, I checked everywhere

 **Comic Sansa** 00:08:        Wait nvm, it was under the adoption papers mom left here to give you away

 **Braniac** 00:09:                 finally I’m free

 

 

Arya chuckled at the family shenanigans, then opening her and Gendry’s chat. Next to Gendry’s name it said he had been online just a few minutes before, so Arya quickly typed a message, not even closing the phone screen before the bubble with three dots popped up as Gendry replied.

 

 **Arya S.** 00:15:                  cant sleep?

 **Gendry** 00:16:                  Stalker

 **Gendry** 00:16:                  And yeah, can’t, my roommates are too fucking noisy and my room is so hot I’m going to melt

 **Arya S.** 00:17:                  wanna go check out the campus fast food? im craving something greasy as hell

 **Gendry** 00:17:                  Bet

 **Arya S.** 00:17:                  where do you want to meet up?

 

Arya got up from the couch as silently as she could so she wouldn’t wake up Joy, then tiptoed to her room. She had to open several boxes before she found her leather jacket, switching from her comfortable fleece shorts to jeans, grabbing her wallet and checking her phone, as the screen was blinking with new messages Gendry had sent.

 

 **Gendry** 00:17:                  I can come to your place

 **Gendry** 00:20:                  Leaving now

 

Arya shook her head at Gendry, as she had figured they’d meet halfway, but Gendry was faster. She wondered to herself if it was some stupid protective thing for Gendry – King’s Landing was sadly known for the violent crimes, and though the college area was a lot more peaceful and safe, Gendry had grown up on the streets where a person – and even more, a woman or a child – was always in danger when walking alone, especially at night. Winterfell wasn’t like that; Arya had walked around with Nymeria – though, the large dog was often enough to scare creeps away, anyway – past midnight in Winterfell, even left to go to the forest or the river if she couldn’t sleep. It was strange to fear going out alone, and Arya couldn’t quite grasp it anyway.

 

After getting her keys and informing Myrcella, who was still awake in the kitchen that she was going out for a bit, Arya stepped outside to the night air where the warmth of the day still lingered.  Arya stuffed her hands into her pockets, standing on the tiny porch under the fairy lights strung from the ceiling with tiny hooks. Arya was looking up at the lights when she heard a familiar voice.

“I might be heavenly, but I’m not going to pop out of the ceiling.” Gendry called out, grinning to her with a twinkle in his blue eyes – gods, how could they be that blue, even when illuminated only by the streetlights?

“Har har.” Arya walked down the few steps and next to Gendry, who got his phone out. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and gods Arya was glad Gendry was staring at his screen or he would have caught her staring at him.

“So I found a few places that are open 24/7.  Say a number between 1 and 6.”

“… 5?” Arya answered, squinting her eyes, as Gendry didn’t exactly give her any choices, but let her luck decide.

“Pizza it is.”  Gendry grinned, tapping at the screen and shoving his phone in Arya’s face. It was a cheap place that had surprisingly good reviews, just a 15-minute walk from her place. “Does that work for you?” Gendry then asked, for a moment looking almost unsure, though he tried to grin through it when his eyes betrayed it.

“Sure, sounds good.” Arya smiled at him, and Gendry visibly relaxed again, and his grin grew wider as Arya continued. “Why didn’t we just choose, what’s the deal with the number?”

“Well, knowing us, we would be here at sunrise still trying to decide.”

“Oh. Smart.”

“Damn, say that again so I can record you calling me smart.”

Arya rolled her eyes at Gendry, punching his side gently, though the soft smile on her lips just didn’t go away.

 

As the pair started walking towards the pizza place, Arya walked on Gendry’s right as they talked, pointing out houses with all the lights on next to  ones completely dark, giggling about a couple furiously making out on a bench that still has the “painted, don’t touch until dry”-sign attached to it. They wondered if the paint is already dry. They didn’t go close enough to find out.

 

“… So, tell me more about your roommates?” Arya asks as they pass a dorm with someone’s stuff thrown out and faint arguing coming from the nearby balcony.

“Uh, they are fine, most of the time. I don’t know, I’ve only known most of them for like, a week.” Gendry answered, kicking a small stone abandoned on the sidewalk. “There’s Hot Pie, you remember Archie from school, right? Lommy lives in the suite next door, too. Then there’s Riddell, he’s the one who comes back drunk like, every night. And then there’s some Astaporian dude moving in next week, his name is Torgo something, don’t know much about him yet.”

“Hot Pie?” Arya let out a faint laugh, looking at Gendry. “Is there a story behind that name or..”

“Okay, so, you see, on 9th grade…”

 

* * *

 

The pizza place wasn’t more than a hole-in-the-wall, with dim lights outside and an ad – “Best night time pizza on campus!”, with suspiciously low prices written at the bottom. Still, Gendry and Arya headed inside, the warm air welcoming them to the small room with a few tables in the middle and booths lining the walls and large windows looking out into the quiet street.

Arya headed to order for them, ringing the bell so the clerk would know they were there. Arya rolled her eyes as Gendry ordered himself a plain margherita pizza, while Arya’s was filled with meat and onion and hot sauce, though she knew the pizza they did down south was different from her favourite place in Winterfell.

“Have you ever even given any, uh, _tasty_ pizza a chance?” Arya started as soon as the two were seated, dodging a soft kick from Gendry from under the table.

“Don’t judge me, it’s good. Can you even taste anything with your hot sauces and like, a whole cow-worth of meat?” Gendry shot back, grinning at the girl. Arya rolled her head as she knew it’d be impossible to brainwash Gendry out of his old ways, taking a sip from her glass to stretch the silence to make sure Gendry knew she wasn’t answering. “Gods, you’re annoying. Remind me why I still talk to you?” Gendry asked, laughing softly – Arya liked that, seeing him happy, hearing him laugh with no phone screen between them.

“Because I’m your favourite.”

“Uh huh, keep insulting my pizza and you won’t be anymore.”

Gendry wasn’t as quick as Arya, so he groaned as Arya kicked his shin playfully.

“Okay, yeah, definitely not my favourite anymore.” Gendry issued through pouted lips, shaking his head at Arya with feigned hurt.  

 

As the pizzas arrived, Arya thanked the waiter and dug into her own, hungrier than she had realized. As she was destroying the pizza in front of her, Gendry checked something on his phone, then spoke to her.

“So, what are your plans for the week? Like, before orientation starts?”

“Not really, just need to get everything set up, probably go annoy Sansa and Margaery, drag Jon to take me to central King’s Landing to do some shopping.”

“Margaery? Sansa’s roommate, right?”

“Yeah, her. Pretty sure Sansa has a major crush on her, though, she barely shut up about Margaery all summer.”

Gendry was quiet at that for a moment, and Arya was sure she spotted some extra red on his cheeks, but as she wolfed down her pizza she couldn’t point it out with her mouth full, giving Gendry the opportunity to change the subject.

“Also, you know there’s a bus you can take to the city, right?” Gendry asked sarcasm dripping from his voice as he continued. “You rich girls just don’t know how to go anywhere without your private driver and car, huh?”

“Rich girls?” Arya asked, emphasising the “s”. “You don’t know any other rich girls.”

“Maybe I do.”

“Who?”

Gendry didn’t answer anymore, just pinched his lips together as Arya looked at him under her brow, amused.

 

Almost an hour later the two got up from their table and headed out. The night air had gotten a bit chillier, but it was a welcome change to the heat – though Arya saw Gendry rub his arms as the air greeted them. Arya thought about pointing it out, teasing him about his southerness, but shut up as Gendry shot her a dirty look – he knew what she was thinking.

As they walked, the sky kept getting lighter and lighter – Arya checked the time from her phone; it was half past 2 in the morning, after they had been walking for an hour barely talking. It wasn’t awkward, though – the air was light between them, as sometimes one would point out something and then they’d fall back into comfortable silence.

Arya slowly started to recognize that Gendry was slowly heading towards her apartment. For a moment, Arya felt stupid for feeling sad about it; she didn’t want Gendry to go, for for the last few years every time they’d have to say goodbye face to face, it was always for a long time. Arya knew it wasn’t the case in this situation, but she couldn’t help the words escape her lips.

“Are you tired yet?”

Gendry looked at her, brows rising and then shook his head, answering with a “not really”.

“Do you want to keep walking? I don’t feel like leaving yet.”

“Sure. I just need to get a jacket, I’m a bit cold.” Arya saw a smile tug at his lips, as if he was happy about Arya’s suggestion.

“Oh, shame I’m not a guy, I’d give my jacket for you.”

“What a cliché, also even as a guy your tiny jacket wouldn’t fit me.”

“What if I was huge as a guy?”

“With your genes? Not a chance.” Gendry laughed straight to her face, as Arya pouted.

“My genes are _fine_!”

“Uh huh, Bitty.” Gendry grinned, dodging Arya as she almost shoved him to the ditch next to the road they were walking on.

 

Arya and Gendry circled back to Gendry’s residence hall. It was very different from Arya’s apartment-style suite, as the hall had two to four suites crammed in every floor, depending on the size. As they arrived to the third floor – the middle one – Arya saw there were three doors with little mailboxes outside them with tiny name plates. Arya couldn’t find Gendry’s though, but a lot more were missing too as people were just moving in.  

“I’ll just grab my jacket, let’s try to be quiet.” Gendry’s voice was low as he opened the door. Even with Gendry’s frame blocking the view – not that he himself wasn’t a view – Arya could still see the suite wasn’t one of the better ones, as the narrow hallway had a bit of a stale smell and she could see the floor missing a piece, though it was mostly covered with a thick rug.

As Gendry was putting a light jacket on, he suddenly looked up at Arya with an almost childish twinkle in his eye.

“Do you think we’ll be out for some time? I have an idea where to go.” Arya’s brows rose to Gendry’s question.

“Will this idea get us in trouble even before our classes start?”

“It … Could but it won’t.”

“You had me at could. What do you want to do?”

Gendry just grinned at her and walked through the hallway as quietly as he could, grabbing something from the sofa and then disappeared around the corner. Arya stood patiently at the door, eyes taking in the bit she saw from the suite with it’s modest furniture and probably freshly-painted walls, judging by the clean white sheen of them.

“I’m ready.”

With that, they started walking back to the elevator. Arya noticed a backpack Gendry had swung over his shoulder; she wondered what he had taken with him.

 

As they got out, Arya assumed they would start walking back towards the residential area of the campus – instead, Gendry started walking towards the educational and facility buildings. Arya didn’t say anything, as she wanted to see what kind of an idea Gendry had had.

Arya’s eyes caught the building she had only seen on the college website before – the psychology and education building, with the same yellowish stone walls as most of King’s Landing, but tall windows cutting through the western side of the building, making it seem a bit more modern than the otherwise historical city.

The other study buildings were a mix of old and modern as well – al of them were built around the skeletons of historical buildings, but all of them had some improvements and extensions that were made when the campus was brought to the current day and age. All the study buildings and the dining hall were in a circle around the large courtyard, closing off only the economics and business halls that were a bit further away from the campus center, after the old business building burned down a decade earlier.  

Arya’s eyes lingered between the psychology building and social studies building standing tall next to one another – the two were where she would be spending most of her time in for the next four or so years. While Arya had taken her entrance exam in both psychology and sociology in multiple schools, Gendry had had only one exam to worry about; the entrance exam to King’s College’s sociology major. Secretly, Arya had been almost more nervous for Gendry’s exam than her own, not that she’d ever admit it out loud. She wanted her friend to get into a good college, preferably with her.

 

Arya had been lost in her thoughts, staring at the buildings in silent awe, when she realized Gendry was heading towards one – Arya was pretty sure it was the science building, but couldn’t be sure.

“Where are we going, anyway?” She inquired, looking finally at Gendry, finding his blue eyes already on her, smiling and kind.

“It would ruin the surprise if I told you.”

“I’ll ruin your face if you don’t tell me.” Arya threatened, but Gendry was only grinned that stupid grin of his at her, earning a punch that was maybe a little bit harder than necessary to his ribs. He let out a wheeze as he shielded his side from more punches, moving a bit farter away from Arya on the sidewalk.

“Nevermind, maybe I won’t take you anywhere as a surprise.” Gendry pouted but could hardly contain the tone of his voice as his eyes were twinkling with joy. Arya rolled her eyes in mild annoyance, though she couldn’t help the smile creeping up her lips again.

“Yes you will.”

“We’ll see.”

 

It took them just a few minutes of walking – during which Arya almost pushed Gendry to the ditch and Gendry returned the favour by pushing Arya off the sidewalk and into a flowerbed and got her shoes dirty. As she cursed out Gendry, voice laced with breathy laughter, Gendry just started waving his hand for Arya to follow as he left the sidewalk, starting to circle the science building. Arya followed him, finally spotting the maintenance ladder going up to the roof.

“You feeling _up_ for it?” Gendry asked, grinning wickedly, but he could hardly finish his sentence when Arya was already up the first few steps.

They climbed in silence. They were almost halfway up, when Arya noticed her hands burning – the skin felt like it was close to a flame, as she pulled herself up using the cold metal rungs. The wind was grabbing onto Arya’s hair, but as the two climbed further from the ground, the more beautiful the campus grounds looked in the early morning dusk.

When Arya finally pulled herself up to the roof, 5 or 6 floors high, the night sky was coloured with oranges and pinks, lighting up the eastern King’s Landing – in the distance Arya could see the Red Keep, the historical castle of the capital, as well as the Great Sept and the newer parts of the city with it’s skyscrapers and parks dotting the city. Arya drew in a breath, slowly, as Gendry climbed up behind her, both of their eyes traveling to the glimmering sea behind the Red Keep, as the dark waters were broken into gentler colours, drawing a line between the land and the sky.

“Holy… Shit. This is amazing.” Arya muttered, slowly walking towards the eastern side of the flat roof, feet still careful and hands calculating what to grab in every moment.

“I know, right? My window’s to east, figured it must be even better from higher up.” Gendry’s voice was softer than before, and as Arya turned her head to watch him, she could see the shimmering pride in his eyes – he clearly was happy he could surprise Arya like this.

 

As the two moved towards east, Gendry swung his bag from his shoulder, getting a fluffy plaid blanket out with a slight grin.

“You cold? I was thinking we could watch the sunrise, since we’re here anyway.”

“Oh wow, is that what you try on every girl?” Arya teased, though part of her was curious – was there someone? Arya found herself wishing there wasn’t – it was stupid, though. It wasn’t her business.

Her inner monologue was stopped as she noticed the redness spread to Gendry’s cheeks and ears.

“Oh my _gods_! Lighten up, I was just teasing you.” Arya laughed, as if it was true – she didn’t want Gendry to answer, didn’t want to think about if the redness warming his cheeks was because she was right and he did bring all the girls to watch sunrises.

“When wouldn’t you be?” His voice was lower now, as if he was talking mostly to himself while he tossed the blanket to Arya, hiding his red face as he lowered his head to dig through his bag for something that wasn’t even there.

 

Arya sat down to the roof, near the edge but safe away, the blanket on her shoulders, digging her phone from her pocket. She lifted the phone to take a few pictures of the sky painted by deep reds and brilliant pinks, tapping the screen every now and then to make it refocus on the morning sky.

“Come here.” Her tone wasn’t quite as commanding as her words seemed to be, but still Gendry came to sit by her side, keeping a distance between them. “Oh come on, stupid.” She sifted closer, tapping the screen to make it go into selfie-mode. As she turned to see Gendry’s face, to tell him to smile and not do anything stupid in the scenic first morning in college-picture, for a second it felt as if a shock of electricity had travelled through her body – Gendry with his blue eyes and black, rugged hair and the impossibly headstrong attitude to absolutely everything. It was Gendry she knew like the back of her hand, and then again, not at all. The Gendry she knew didn’t steal her breath away and make her knees weak in the coffee shop queue, this one did.

Arya bit her lower lip, hard – she reminded herself of her earlier tease; maybe this really was what he did with all the girls he got with, no way he didn’t have anyone or hadn’t had someone he just hadn’t told Arya about. And on the other hand, why should she care – Gendry was her friend, nothing more, nothing less. A friend, even her best, but still – a friend.

Arya regained her movements, as she lifted the camera so both of them could be seen on the screen; by then, Gendry had already turned his gaze to the camera, smiling. Arya turned her head to face the camera, and like that, the moment was gone – it was still her Gendry, her best friend, nothing more.

 

They sat on the roof like that, blanket thrown on their shoulders, listening to a playlist they had made some months ago on a sleepless night while studying for their exams. They listened to the music, the waking city, the people rushing to work and slowly, the world was painted with colours unimaginable, and for a while, everything was simple and easy – they were in their own little world, and could only be dragged out of their little bubble by the janitor coming to his morning shift who climbed up to yell at them.

 

As Arya went to bed in the morning, there was a warm feeling coiling in her chest – it was unfamiliar, but now unwelcome. It reminded her of Gendry’s warmth in the morning hour, it reminded of their laughter echoing in the campus courtyard as they were driven away by the red-faced janitor, and it reminded her of the look in Gendry’s eyes as he wished her good morning with laughter in his voice as they said their goodbyes.

 

 **Arya S.** 08:13:                 good night/morning, dumbass

 **Gendry** 08:18:                  You too, Arry.

 

Arya read Gendry’s message only hours later as Lyanna came to her room asking for help with her room – and as she read through the message with sleepy eyes, she couldn’t help the sappy smile from rising to her lips. Maybe this new Gendry was worth knowing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most likely some of you find my description of college incredibly weird - I originally planned to write the college au based on US colleges only, but as I read about it, I decided to go into a different direction; now the college is a big mix of US/UK/Finnish college culture, where for example the form of applying to college is borrowed from Finnish universities. This is the most comfortable way for me to write this story, so I hope it won't bother anyone too much! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and patiently waiting for this chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> The fic is planned to be around 25-26 chapters long, and I will try to get new chapters out in reasonable time period. Right now I have around 3 chapters done (so this and the next two), but I am open to all suggestions and ideas and I love hearing from you guys! Thank you so much for reading, leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed! :) 
> 
> Feel free to DM me [@lesbianismkills](https://twitter.com/lesbianismkills) on twitter if you feel like fighting me for my dumbass ideas x


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